


safe behind these palace walls.

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Autistic Sonia Nevermind, Friendship, Gen, Original Character(s), Sonia Nevermind-Centric, Trans Girl Chihiro, basically just gundhams family, nb mukuro mikan n chiaki because hell yea, no romance here srry, sonia loves women!!, trans gundham tanaka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 11:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20759513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sonia Nagano had always wanted to be a Princess and, at the age of four, the girl decided that she was one. | The story of Sonia Nevermind





	safe behind these palace walls.

Sonia Nagano had always wanted to be a Princess and, at the age of four, the girl decided that she was one. As she was at such a young age, her parents thought nothing of it and allowed her to continue in her make-believe world. In fact, they even encouraged it. They bought her long dresses which she deemed gowns, and, for her fifth birthday, they gifted her a plastic crown.

During this time, Sonia let her imagination run wild, spending each and every day thinking about and expanding her kingdom. She kept on expanding and expanding until this imaginary kingdom wasn’t just imaginary anymore. It was a part of her daily life. She’d spend her mornings eating breakfast at what appeared to her as a stretching dinner table. She spent time playing outside in her family's tiny backyard which appeared to her as a magnificent garden. She spent her time drawing on pieces of paper she saw as old, yellowing scrolls.

She liked being a Princess. A lot. And her parents thought nothing of it.

To them, being a ‘Princess’ was only a role she was playing. A role she played day in, day out because she had no other siblings to play with. She played these ‘games’ in preschool as well, from what the teachers had reported back to them. No one found it weird; the only 'strange' part about it was that Sonia would get incredibly upset when a teacher said it was time for her to ‘stop playing’. It would always end up in a temper tantrum that would leave Sonia sitting in time out.

While Sonia heavily disliked time out, it never bothered her too much as it allowed her to create her kingdom evermore.

It was at age seven where Sonia decided that her name was no longer Sonia Nagano and was instead Sonia Nevermind. It was at age seven where Sonia’s ‘obsession’ with becoming a Princess became a slight issue.

She was halfway through her first year of school and, while a young girl wanting to become a Princess wasn’t a bad thing, Sonia’s utter dedication to it was odd. Not only was the name change strange to her parents, but the drawings of odd creatures she’d bring home with her were also rather startling. Pictures of animals like the ‘Makango’ or the ‘Skong’ started to appear on the fridge and Sonia’s parents really didn’t know what to do about it.

Sonia’s Mother partially, and stupidly, blamed it on the girl’s name. Sonia. While having her Mother’s Japanese surname, Sonia possessed a name that was more western, just like her Father who was from Britain. 

They figured as the girl was still young, they wouldn’t act upon it and decided to merely try and slowly pry away the dream of being a Princess. It didn’t work. And by the time Sonia was eight, she had a fully developed world planned out in her mind.

She was a Princess—and heir to the throne—of the Novoselic Kingdom. The kingdom was a small one located in Europe;at the time, Sonia didn’t know what the term ‘absolute monarchy’ meant, but her kingdom was run under one. While the Novoselic kingdom was good at many things its specialties were wine, chocolate and winning battles.

Slowly but surely, Sonia’s parents came to realise where their many missing wine bottles and chocolate boxes went. They were all in the girl's room, and while she never opened them… she played with them. A lot. Apparently, wine and chocolate were the easiest things Sonia could get her hands on and so they were quick to become her kingdom’s trade. The one positive thing about Sonia's 'play' was the fact that it got her outside—even if when she was outside she was ‘winning wars’.

In the Novoselic Kingdom, Sonia was apart of the long, long line of prestigious Nevermind's and had yet to be married off to a suitor. A quick marriage to her teddy bear named Bubbles fixed that though, and the marriage ceremony to the multicoloured bear happened in her backyard one Sunday afternoon. Her parents were invited but never showed up; Sonia got married to the bear nonetheless with her giraffe priest walking her down the aisle in place of her Dad. 

It was a nice wedding, Sonia deemed, and she stayed in the white dress she had worn for it all day. Her parents even let Sonia bring the bear to the table for dinner. It was nice, well, until her parents asked how it felt to have a husband and Sonia had corrected them in saying 'wife'.

The bear was a girl, and her name was Bubbles.

They had looked at her weirdly after she had corrected them for a reason Sonia couldn’t detect. She loved her wife and she didn’t see anything wrong with having one. Besides, 'Mummy was Daddy’s wife after all', and Sonia thought the two inseparable.

This was how Sonia started bringing Bubbles around with her wherever she went. The two were inseparable and vowed to fight the world together, so they were never separate. Even at school.

As Sonia grew older, she realised that people didn’t seem to have the same interests in Princesses and Kingdoms that she did. People didn’t seem to carry around teddies either, but she didn’t mind the looks she got. Bubbles was not only her wife, but her friend as well. But yes, no one seemed interested in Princesses like she was. The other students would always either snicker and giggle at her or wrinkle their nose in disgust when she brought up the topic. Sonia began to learn that on the weekends, the other kids didn’t fill books with drawings of their kingdoms, its fashion and its wildlife. When going shopping they didn’t only stick to dresses- and occasionally nice tops and skirts. When they grew out of their crown- not that anyone in her class had one- they didn’t get so upset that their parents would have to swiftly purchase a new one.

On the first day of junior high, Sonia put in her unicorn earrings- she had gotten them pierced the previous year on her twelfth birthday as it seemed like all Princesses had earrings- and clumsily did up the buttons of a light green dress she owned. Doing up buttons were difficult for her and she often found herself having to repeatedly try and try again when putting them on.

‘Are you ready?’ Her Mother had asked her while doing Sonia’s hair in the crown braid style she liked, and Sonia replied affirmatively. She carefully did the Velcro of her shoes, despite hating the sound and texture, before accepting her backpack from her Father and grabbing Bubbles on the way out. Her Father gave her an odd look, but she ignored it. She would have much preferred if Mummy had driven her to school rather than Daddy, but it wasn’t like she could tell her parents that.

That would be rude, and Princesses were never rude. She could tell that much from all the books she had read on them.

She could immediately tell that things were… different. They were harder. Louder. And by the time her homeroom teacher had entered the room, she found herself repeatedly tapping on her desk. It was loud, too loud. But Sonia didn’t say anything, she felt like she couldn’t.

The role was called and immediately, the lady got her name wrong. It was Sonia Nevermind, not Sonia Nagano; she made this very clear to her teacher by putting up her hand when they had finished marking it. Her correction was met by muffled laughter.

Sonia didn’t know what was so funny.

‘Oh yes,’ her teacher had said. Sonia had told her parents to write to the school about putting ‘Nevermind’ on the role instead of ‘Nagano’. While they couldn’t do that- as her Mother had told her- she had said she could put ’Nevermind’ on the role as well as ‘Nagano’ and Sonia has been satisfied with that. Now, at the teachers disapproving grimace as she noted down the change, Sonia wasn’t so sure.

Sonia felt… upset. It was a strange feeling to her. She had been upset before, but this wasn’t the usual upset.

It was- it did- it- it-

_Stung._

For the next two periods, and recess, Sonia didn’t pay attention to what the teachers were saying. Instead, she filled her schoolbooks with tales of adventures done by the brave knights of the Novoselic Kingdom. She continued drawing the legendary hero of the Kingdom. And, she held Bubbles close to her chest all the while.

The only time she did pay attention was when the teacher called the role and she had to correct them each time. And each time they reacted to the name badly. As if it was a sin. This made Sonia upset, too.

Why couldn’t they say her name?

_Why can’t they say my name? Why can’t they say my name? Why can’t they say my name? Why can’t they say my name? Why can’t they say my name? _

_My name is Sonia Nevermind! _

_My name is Sonia Nevermind! _

_My name... is Sonia! Nevermind! _

_Just… please… say my name. It’s my name. It’s my-_

“Is Nevermind, Sonia here?” A kind voice called out through the classroom, and Sonia looked up to see a kind-faced woman standing behind the desk at the front of the room. According to what was written on the board, the ladies name was Ms. Tomita and she was an English teacher. Sonia rose her hand cautiously, and the woman smiled at her before checking off her name. Sonia sighed as the woman moved onto the next person, noticing the tight feeling in her chest; she suddenly thought that she had forgotten to breathe throughout all the periods of the day.

But obviously that was impossible, she’d be dead. Although, she had been ignored by the other students all day so there wasn’t anything stopping Sonia from thinking that she had become a ghost.

“Now, students, I have a question for you all,” Ms. Tomita said after she had finished marking the role, “what would you like to be when you’re older? I’m sure this is a question you’ve been asked before and will continue to be asked, but I’d just like to know. Let’s go around the classroom and say what we would like to be alright.”

And that’s what happened. Starting with Ms. Tomita who had said she’d wanted to be an astronaut when she was younger, students began saying what they wanted to be. A ballet dancer. A writer. An artist. A celebrity. A musician. And Sonia’s answer was, of course, “a Princess.” People had laughed at that. Not just snickering or smiled hidden by hands, full-blown laughter. It made Sonia want to cry.

“Be quiet,” Ms. Tomita hushed, “there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a Princess. Their job is excruciatingly hard, and Miss. Nevermind is very brave for wanting to go down that path.” There was silence for a few moments, before the students started up again with what they wanted to be. Sonia gave Ms. Tomita a shy smile, and Ms. Tomita gave her a kind one in return.

The rest of the school day was and forgettable and when Sonia finally got home, she rushed to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed. She didn’t cry, she didn’t even shake, she just felt awful. As if there were poles in her stomach, pushing and pushing until they would finally impale her from the inside.

This feeling didn’t stop, but eventually tears did come. And so did her Mother, placing a hand on her daughters back and gently rubbing it. Usually, Sonia would flinch away from the sudden and unspoken contact, but she was so caught up in the painful feeling and the tear streaming down her face to notice her Mother’s presence.

When she did notice, however, she rolled over and away from her Mother’s hand. She hugged Bubbles close and looked up at the woman, who looked down on her with a pitying smile. “What’s wrong, Sone?” She asked, using the nickname from Sonia’s childhood.

“Bad day,” Sonia huffed, “no one’s being nice. I don’t want to go back; they don’t... respect me.”

Sonia’s Mother frowned at this, “you have to go to school Sone.”

“But-”

“Please at least try and go tomorrow. Two days and if you still hate it, I guess we can let you stay home on the third day. But then you must go back.”

Sonia grumpily accepted this rule, and it’s exactly what she did. She went to school on Tuesday. She stayed home working on her kingdom on Wednesday. She went to school on Thursday. She went to school on Friday. She went shopping with her parents on Saturday, having to go home early with her Mother after having what Sonia’s Mother described as a temper tantrum. It wasn’t a temper tantrum. Sonia didn’t know what it was. But it wasn’t a temper tantrum.

She hadn’t felt angry.

She had felt… _overwhelmed. _

It was when Sonia was thirteen that her parents decided that something was ‘wrong’ with her. Sonia didn’t quite understand why, but after overhearing her Mother saying, ‘I just don't know what to do with her, even her teachers are worried. Apparently, she’s not making any friends, and she’s still going on about that Princess talk… I just- I just don’t know,” and realising her Mother had been talking about her, she felt upset.

But she didn’t understand, what was wrong with her? And what was wrong being a Princess? She didn’t understand. She didn’t understand…

_I don’t understand._

_I don’t understand._

_I don’t under-_

And what did they mean she ‘had no friends’? She did! She had Bubbles, even though she had begun to leave Bubbles at home, and she had all her other toys as well. They were her friends, and they were better than any of the mean kids at school. Besides, other friends would distract her from her schoolwork. She found the work she was given very hard and had to focus to work on it, so loud noises while she was studying or doing homework wasn’t appreciated.

Sonia wanted to do better than she did on the exams last year- which she didn’t do well in at all- so that she could make her parents proud.

They started by taking her to the doctor. Sonia still didn’t understand but strived to answer the doctor’s questions as well as she could anyhow. The doctor didn’t really do anything, but they recommend Sonia see someone called a ‘GP’. The GP also asked her a series of questions, and then allowed Sonia to draw while they spoke to her Mother and Father. Sonia overheard the words ‘OT’ and ‘psychiatrist’, and while she only knew of the latter, she thought that the acronyms all the doctors used were very strange. She couldn’t even picture what they meant.

Her Mother seemed slightly upset and Sonia wasn’t sure why. She didn’t see anything to be upset about, and she wasn’t even sick. She wasn’t quite sure what she was doing with these doctors, but she found all that they were talking about fairly interesting. She made a point of looking up what they were talking about when they got home. And what she found out… she frowned at little. _Why is Mum upset over this? _

It was only when soon after this, and a week before her psychiatrist appointment, when she was called a particular unkind word. One she had seen while researching that night. Only upon being called that did she begin to feel slightly scared of what she could be. What they were looking at her for being.

It was the malice used behind the word that had really upset her. But she didn’t say anything about it, simply standing frozen as the kids who had been pushing her around- and had been since the start of the year- had walked away. She didn’t say anything to any teachers. She didn’t say anything to her parents. She told Bubbles though, Sonia Nevermind vowed to tell her wife everything.

This word was thrown around a lot in accordance to her, so by the time she had reached the day of her psychiatrist appointment… she was dreading it. Greatly. Her Mother had managed to grab an appointment on a Wednesday, meaning that Sonia was able to skip school for the day.

She had dressed up as she always did, in a nice dress with her hair neatly done, this time in a pair of pigtails. She had her colourful earrings in and she presented herself with a sense of dignity, holding her chin high and walking firmly by her Mother’s side. She held her hands in fists as she walked, and in one of them was Bubbles. She had wanted Bubbles to attend the appointment as well, deeming it a rather important one.

Upon getting into the waiting room, Sonia’s Mother made her go over to the toy area where another kid already sat. Sonia was adamant about not doing this, but eventually complied. She wasn’t a child, and she didn’t need to play with toys to keep herself occupied. In fact, she wanted to draw. However, she did eventually make her way over to the play area. She didn’t want to be that much of a bother; besides, her Mother was missing work for this.

The kid sitting in the children’s area was wearing a beanie, a messy black fringe sticking out from underneath the purple material as well as some lose hair- as if they had put it in a bun. Upon feeling Sonia’s eyes on them, the kid turned their body to look up at her and Sonia’s murky eyes were met with firm grey and brown ones, a scar stretching across the left side of their face. In the light of the room, the brown eye seemed to flare red, flashing indignantly with determination. Sonia also noted a small hamster design on the front of their beanie and smiled. She found it cute.

The kid murmured something to her, which Sonia completely missed. She shuffled forward on her knees, as if to tell them to repeat what they said, but the kid only moved away in a flurry.

“Oh, sorry…” Sonia sighed, leaning back on her legs in resign.

“It’s okay.” The kid’s tone was slightly louder, as if realising that they hadn’t been heard. “I said I liked your bear.”

“Oh!” Sonia exclaimed, smile brightening, “her name is Bubbles! Bubbles Nevermind.”

“Nevermind?” The kid echoed, clearly confused. They still seemed to be flinching away from Sonia, but she didn’t mind. While the girl didn’t mind being in another person’s presence, she absolutely despised whenever anyone touched her. Especially without asking. 

“Yeah, it’s her surname. It’s mine too! We’re married, actually,” Sonia grinned, the words flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. She briefly worried that the kid would judge her, but at the small turn of their lips, she felt a sense of relief spread throughout her.

“What’s your name then?” The kid asked bluntly, and Sonia felt a little taken aback at the force of the words. At seeing the look on her face, the kid tensed further, “sorry, I’m not really good at controlling my voice.”

Sonia shrugged, “my name is Sonia, Sonia Nevermind. Don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

“Any… different?” The kid asked, eyes seeming to brighten a little.

“Mhm! Everyone calls me Sonia Nagano but that’s simply not my name. Apparently, they can’t accept my godly presence,” she laughed, joking around only to stop in the unbridled awe on the kid’s face. “Wh-”

“Me too,” they abruptly said, “my name is Gundham Tanaka, but everyone calls me… well…”

“You don’t have to say,” Sonia interrupted, and the kid nodded in thanks. “Gundham, wow, that’s really cool!”

“Thanks…” They- Gundham- said absently, glancing away from her. Sonia’s stare was a bit overwhelming to him- unbeknownst to her- and he just needed a slight break from it. “No one seems to understand the horrible mistake they make calling me a name not my own. It will only draw my wrath sooner.”

Sona blinked at the sudden change in Gundham’s voice. It was… awesome, but she couldn’t help giggling a little. The two talked with one another, Gundham occasionally dropping out of the conversation at points Sonia found random, but she didn’t say anything about it. Just like how Gundham didn’t say anything the many times during the conversation where Sonia repeated the same phrase or word over and over, seeming to get stuck or lost in it.

But talking was nice nonetheless. It was only not nice when a name was called throughout the room, _“Gen Tanaka! Please follow me,” _and Gundham had awkwardly gotten up from his spot and walked over to where a woman and another boy sat. She waved at him by using Bubble’s paw, and he had slightly grinned. It was the biggest one from that whole time they had spent together. She hoped that she would see him again.

Sonia had to go soon after and had joined her Mother in walking to the physiatrist’s office. They were greeted with a kind faced woman who had a soft, ghostly tone. While during the appointment the lady did ask a number of questions, what made it different was that she asked them directed towards Sonia. Not to her Mother, to her. She found it nice, comforting. For once, she felt in control. It was a nice feeling, and Sonia appreciated the fact that the psychiatrist was letting her take partial control.

They did some basic tasks after that, Sonia’s Mother sitting back and just like that… the appointment was over. They organised another one, and the psychiatrist asked if the next time she could have Sonia by herself for at least half of it. Her Mother had complied.

Sonia came to realise many things during the following sessions she had, and would have, with the physiatrist. The main one, is that she liked being in control and maybe that had to do with her interest and comfort in being a Princess. It was a position of power. Of control.

It was when she was thirteen that Sonia was diagnosed with autism. However, it was also when she was thirteen that she gained her first real friend. _Gundham Tanaka. _

_xxx_

“Makan- makango?” Gundham asked, looking up from the book he was reading_\- Warrior Cats- _and towards Sonia who sat making him a blue, pink and white bracelet out of beads she owned.

“Mhm,” Sonia grinned, “makango. It’s one of the creatures in my kingdom,” she then pointed to a section of her wall dedicated to the Novoselic Kingdom’s creatures. He looked at them and nodded before going back to his book.

The two were fifteen now and had been spending a lot of time together, especially as it was their last week of holidays before their high school years would start- Sonia was very glad to say goodbye to her junior high, as was Gundham. Their most common hang out was at Sonia’s house as Gundham’s was crowded with siblings and rushing parents. Sonia’s place was simply… much more serene. It was during this time where Sonia had become practically addicted to making bead bracelets, finding comfort in the repetitive movements, and Gundham had vowed to read all of the Warrior Cats books. _All of them. _

Sonia had also further introduced Gundham to her kingdom and had finally introduced him to all the Kingdom’s inhabitants. He had a particular fondness for the baker, Sonia presumed this was because the baker of the kingdom was a stuffy blue hamster.

“Well, no matter their name they must pale in comparison to my Dark Devas, nothing can surpass their excellence.” As he spoke, the many bead bracelets clinked together on his wrist. Sonia had a lot of them too.

“Well, you might that that but the makangos are pretty special. Even if they aren’t ever powerful like your Dark Devas!”

“Yes but-”

“I know, Gundham,” Sonia let out a fake smile, hurriedly changing the topic at Gundham’s obvious frustration. He didn’t like to be wrong, especially when his Dark Devas were concerned. “I really wish you could bring them over…”

“I know, but you must be patient my She-Cat, when the time is right you will meet them.”

“Well, I sure hope that time comes soon,” Sonia nodded firmly as she tied together the ends of the string bracelet before passing it over to the boy, he regarded it happily before sliding it on.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon around Sonia’s house, eventually moving out of Sonia’s room at the promise of snacks from Sonia’s Mother. Gundham liked Sonia’s family, they were so… simple. Very fitting, yet unfitting, for a Princess like herself.

Luckily, Sonia did eventually meet the Dark Devas in the days to come when she finally visited Gundham over at his house on the second last day of the holidays- the last spent preparing herself, resting and trying on her uniform one more time. And then another. She had sat down with one of the teachers- and her Mother- earlier and discussed everything that would likely happen on her first week so that she wouldn’t be taken aback by much. They wanted her to be prepared as possible, aware of the many notes and requirements in her file.

She was immediately drawn to them, and the feeling seemed to be mutual as they very quickly allowed her to hold them. The day at Gundham’s house was… okay. While she found all his siblings interesting, they also made her slightly uncomfortable. The thing that made her smile the most, however, was the big trans flag displayed in the room Gundham shared with his twin, a girl who Sonia found… intense.

She would have to get used to Gundham’s twin Gina, though, because the two were going to be sharing a campus. One of the things that had shocked Sonia and Gundham the most was the fact that they were going to sibling schools, Gundham going to the boy’s school while Sonia was going to the girl’s one. The even funnier thing was the fact that the schools… shared a campus.

They weren’t in the same building, no, but they did share a campus. Meaning they could eat together. Meaning they could spend school-time together. Meaning the chance of crossing paths when going to the rest area in the building between the two schools was very high. Sonia thought it hilarious while also finding herself incredibly lucky.

She had always dreamed that her high school years would be better, and Gundham would be a certain feature that made her dream a reality.

On the first day of school, Sonia woke herself up and ate breakfast incredibly early. She just… didn’t want to be late. One of the school rules was that hair must be kept up, so Sonia tied her hair into two braids after brushing her teeth and washing her face. She put on her burgundy uniform, the white shirt, long dark skirt and dark blazer looking alright before sitting by the door with her backpack on her back. Her parents found it odd but didn’t say anything.

“Can I go yet?” Sonia asked, looking up from her phone and to her Father. She had been given a phone for Christmas last year.

“Yes, you should be fine now,” her Father replied after looking down at his watch. “Have you got your pass?”

Sonia nodded and stood up, taking the bus pass from her blazer pocket and showing it off to her Father.

“Very good, now be careful on the bus and if you need any help call me or you Mother. Remember, you also have your out-passes so if you need to leave the room-”

“I know Dad! I love you,” Sonia quickly exclaimed before leaving her house and shutting the door behind her. From her attitude, some might think that Sonia was excited for her first day at school, but they would be very wrong. Gravely wrong. She was rushing not because of excitement, but because of worry.

When she got to the mediumly crowded bus stop, Sonia Nevermind stood beside a particularly meek student, who she noticed, wouldn’t stop shaking. They wore a uniform different from her own, but they looked around the same age. Sonia frowned, feeling bad for them before slipping off one of her colourful bracelets- this particular one was purple and pink- and held it out for them to take.

They looked up and Sonia flinched slightly at their swirling brown eyes. They looked… so upset. However, they did end up taking the bracelet from Sonia; as they put it around their wrist, Sonia watched them crack a small smile, chapped and damaged lips spreading beautifully.

Sonia smiled too. Making others happy made her feel happy and, well, it was also part of her duty as a Princess.

The two didn’t speak, but they did sit together on the bus. The ride was silent, the student fidgeting constantly and fiddling with their dark and choppy hair while Sonia listened to music. In fact, the only words Sonia spoke the whole bus ride were to compliment them on their red cross pin before they got off at their school stop, causing them to smile again before getting off the bus. Sonia watched them walk away, their skirt flouncing as they did so. She hoped that she’d learn their name someday.

Her school wasn’t too far away at that point, and she began to worry. This worry became especially apparent when she got out of the bus and stood in front of the imposing palace.

_Nothing’s going to change. I don’t want to be here. Why am I here? There’s no point. I don’t want to be here. Why can’t I go home? At home I’m safe. Here I’m not. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want-_

“Sonia,” A voice called, and she turned to see Gundham and Gina approaching- as well as some of Gundham’s older siblings who simply walked onto campus. Sonia had forgotten the fact that all of the Tanaka family went to the school.

“Oh, hey,” Sonia said, voice quivering a little. She began playing with her bracelets.

“You okay?” Gina asked, a frown on the girl’s face as she observed. Sonia nodded. Gina rocked back and forth in place, charms on her bag clinking together as she continued to blow up and pop a piece of bubble-gum in her mouth. “‘Kay.”

Gundham didn’t believe her. Sonia knew that. But he didn’t say anything.

“It seems that it is my time to depart, fair well-”

“Mere mortals,” Gina finished for him, ushering him away. Gundham huffed, and bumped wrists with Sonia as he passed her, bracelets lightly tapping together. “C’mon Sonia… I can call you Sonia, right?”

Sonia nodded, “can I call you Gina?”

“Obvs,” Gina smirked before taking Sonia by the wrist and leading her through the gates. The sudden grip shocked Sonia so much that she flinched, but Gina seemingly didn’t notice. She wanted Gina to let go of her, but she felt like she couldn’t say anything. So, she simply let Gina lead her to their classroom for home room. Well, to their neighbouring classrooms at least. Sonia Nevermind was in class 1-2 while Gina Tanaka was in class 1-3.

Inside the room, Sonia was at a loss for what to do. Some people were already sitting down while others stood up and talked. Everyone seemed to already know each other. The girls in the classroom all looked intimidating and scary. There was no room for her. None at all.“Hey, you okay, Princess? You lookin’ kinda scared over there,” a loud voice piped up from nearby, and Sonia jumped slightly before turning to see a student with white streaks in their hair looking up at her. The short black hair of their bob sprung out wildly around their face while the hair of their bangs practically fell into their eyes.

_What did they just call me? _Sonia murmured to herself in awe.

Instead of answering their question, Sonia simply asked, “why did you call me that?”

“Hmm?” They hummed loudly in response, leaning forward before placing a finger to either side of their head. Sonia watched in confusion before their eyes suddenly sprung open and they ushered Sonia over. Sonia, of course, followed their command. “Whaddya say?”

“Oh, I just asked why you called me that,” Sonia repeated.

“Well… Ibuki called you that because you look like a Princess, Princess. Oh, right, my name is Ibuki Mioda!” Ibuki practically yelled, bowing so low that their head almost hit the table. Sonia took a step back, slightly startled, before bowing a small bow herself.

“I’m Sonia… Sonia Nevermind.”

“Nevermind what?” Ibuki tilted their head to the side before tapping the table, “tell me!”  
  
“Oh, I mean, that’s my last name.” Sonia bit her lip and Ibuki only grinned, suddenly getting it. “Hello, Mioda, do you know where I’m supposed to sit?”

“Oh! Ibuki knows the answer to that,” Ibuki smiled, leaning her face into her left hand, “and the answer is anywhere! The teach’ came in a little early to tell us to sit anywhere. So, all seats are up for grabs.”

Sonia looked around the classroom, slightly overwhelmed by the layout. The desks were set out in a way that there were two desks pressed together in a grid of three by four- a total of twenty-four desks, Sonia was good at mental arithmetic. It was like her superpower.

“Um… do you know where I should sit?” Sonia asked, stupidly, and Ibuki shook her head.

“What about you sit next to me?” Ibuki asked, offering the table beside her. Sonia considered it, observing Ibuki’s spot in the second row of the classroom before nodding her head. It was a nice place in the room. She placed her bag on the hooks of the outer desk before sitting down beside Ibuki. The two sat quietly for a second, before Ibuki piped up again, “can I touch your hair?”

“What?” Sonia asked in surprise. “Um… okay?”

Ibuki smiled at her before taking one of Sonia’s plaits in her hand and fiddling gently with it. Sonia sighed slightly at Ibuki’s gentle treatment, she was worried she was going to yank it or something. She leant to the side slightly and pulled out her sketchbook and pencil case before flipping open to a blank page in the book as Ibuki fiddled with her hair. “You have Princess hair,” she stated. And Sonia smiled.

“Thank you. You have cool hair.”

Eventually, Ibuki stopped playing with Sonia’s hair and went to do something of her own- Sonia looked over to see the girl reading a comic book as they tapped an unfamiliar tune on the surface of the table. The desks in the class began to fill and, eventually, two students took the joined desks in front of them. A girl with frizzy, dark hair sitting in front of Ibuki while a student with a slightly crumpled uniform and pink-tipped hair sat in front of Sonia.

Class was… okay. It wasn’t too bad, but Sonia still had to correct teachers on her name and found it hard to focus. Ibuki seemed to have a harder time focusing, however, and couldn’t stop moving. Sonia didn’t mind though, she too continuously moved. Fiddling with her bracelets and occasionally tugging on the ends of her braids.

At recess and at lunch, she ventured to find Gundham in the courtyard, bumping into Gina on the way. However, Gina seemed too busy introducing herself to Ibuki to say much; Ibuki had asked if she could eat with Sonia as she didn’t have anyone else to eat with. Sonia, of course, said yes.

Luckily, they found Gundham easily at both recess and lunch and the four of them were able to sit and eat together. Ibuki seemed obsessed with the mystical way Gundham spoke and bonded with him over Warrior Cats upon seeing the book he was reading while Sonia got more and more used to the forward and intense way Gina spoke.

Both times they got back to their classroom that day, Ibuki and Sonia found the pink-tipped student lying over their table, playing on a small console in their hands. Sonia thought that their face was worryingly too close to the screen, but didn’t say anything.

On the bus ride home, Sonia once again sat with the mysterious dark-haired and shaky student who still wore the bracelet Sonia had given them. Sonia suspected this to be the pattern her week would fall into, and she was correct. The first two weeks, while containing a lot of bumps and tears along the way, passed fairly swiftly.

School was okay and her first and second weeks of school were good.

Her third week of school was not so good. Not good at all. In fact, it was a very bad sensory week for her, and she had to spend a lot of time outside of class and in one of the few rest rooms the school had in the middle building. To her surprise, she often encountered a familiar face during her walks to, from and within the building. It was the pink-tipped girl.

They didn’t talk during any of these encounters, however, as Sonia was usually very upset and shaky during all of them and the pink-tipped student seemed too distant.

It was only when they accidentally wandered into Sonia’s room, not knowing it was occupied, did they speak to one another. Luckily, Sonia had dried up her tears at that point. It was unbecoming of a Princess to be seen crying.

“Oh,” was all they said upon seeing Sonia in the room, a whining sound coming from their console making Sonia presume they had just lost a level.

“Hello?” Sonia mumbled; voice still weak. “Sorry, this room is occupied.”

“... I can… see that,” they nodded. Sonia thought their pink-tipped bob was cute, but this was no time to be thinking like that. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” Sonia shrugged. The pink-tipped student was about to leave when Sonia, in the spur of the moment, called out, “wait! What’s your name?”

Pink-tipped looked at her as if they were calculating something before saying, “Chiaki… Nanami.

_xxx_

Gundham and Sonia stood outside the gym with a practically buzzing Gina bobbing up and down beside them. “What are we doing here?” Sonia asked sweetly, looking at the twins on either side of her. Upon being invited to a sleepover at Chiaki’s house, Sonia really didn’t think that the day would start off with her at the gym.

The three of them, as well as their friends, were all fifteen now and to celebrate their last weekend of freedom before the start of their second school year, Chiaki had invited the whole group around for a sleepover while Gina was simply spending the day at a friend’s house with her own group.

“So that Ten can pick us up and drop us off at our respective houses,” Gina replied with a shrug, still bobbing incessantly. Ten Tanaka was one of Gundham and Gina’s older brothers- they had another while also having two older sisters. “He goes to the gym on Saturday mornings.”

“Huh,” Sonia hummed before the three of them headed into the gym. 

Gina was tasked with finding Ten while Gundham and Sonia simply stood towards the entrance. However, Gundham ended up leaving Sonia as apparently... he saw someone he knew. Sonia was going to follow him… but that’s when her phone buzzed in her pocket and she said to excuse her so she could check the notification.

It was a text message. A text message from the group chat that held all six members of the group, including herself and Gundham.

_GamerGremlin: hey _

_GamerGremlin: iz it okay if a friend of mine iz at the sleepover as well_

_GamerGremlin: smthing bad happened n theyre rlly upset so i want to be around them right now_

_trashgoblin: YA!!!_

_trashgoblin: the more the merrier is what ibuki always says ;))))_

_trashgoblin: two says that its okay too _

_scrapbabie: yeah why wouldn’t that be fine _

_scrapbabie: also is it okay if i take a shower there? i got covered in oil from work today and our shower isn’t working very well_

_GamerGremlin: ya lul_

_GamerGremlin: what abt u sony? i see you lurking_

_PrincessNevermind: Of course, it’s okay! I’m sure Gundham doesn’t mind. _

During their first year of school ’Princess Sonia’ and ‘God Gundham’ had gained some new friends. Sonia had made friends with two students from the girl’s campus and, similarly, Gundham had made friends with two students from the boy’s campus.

From the girl’s campus: Ibuki Mioda, otherwise known as _trashgoblin_, and Chiaki Nanami, otherwise known as _GamerGremlin. _From the boys: Kazuichi Sōda, otherwise known as _scrapbabie_, and Byakuya Twogami, otherwise known as _TwoTimesTwo. _Sonia herself was _PrincessNevermind_ while Gundham was simply _devabreeder. _

Sonia was about to write something else when Gundham’s voice yelled out to her and she looked up to see Gundham next to an unfamiliar- and very, very pretty- figure. Sonia walked over to the two nervously.

“Hello,” Sonia said, looking around.

“Sonia, meet the strongest mortal I have ever encountered, Akane Owari,” the girl beside him waved. They wore a white shirt over a black tank as well as a pair of bright red shorts and shoes. “And Akane, meet my beloved She-Cat, Sonia Nevermind.”

“Oh! So, you’re Sonia,” Akane said loudly, using her first name straight out of the park, “Gundham’s told me a lot about you. You’re the one who made his bracelets.”

“Yes… that’s me,” Sonia said before beginning to fiddle with them, “Gundham, how do you know Owari?”

“I live in the neighbourhood,” Akane answered for him, “but I’m home-schooled so… ya know.”

"Oh…” Sonia trailed off and allowed Gundham to pick up the conversation.

The three spoke while Gina searched for Ten Sonia hoped that she’d hurry up- and it was very awkward. Supremely awkward. Sonia was incredibly bad around strangers, but Akane did seem nice. And very… interesting.

And yeah, Akane was very pretty.

“Oh! Akane,” Gina said, interrupting the conversation with a tired-looking Ten following behind her. _Thank God,_ Sonia thought to herself.

“Hey Gina,” Akane grinned at the girl, and Gina smiled in return. “See y’all later, it was nice meeting you, Sonia.”

“Yes, you too.” Sonia nodded, and Akane smiled at her formal register. Sonia figured that Akane simply didn’t understand the ways of a Princess, but that wasn’t her fault.

On the way back to the car, Ten remained silent but the three didn’t. Gina started to bob up and down again, Gundham began humming a haunting tune and Sonia began talking in circles, slightly exhausted from the conversation Gundham had sprung on her. Sonia stimmed most of the drive, pulling out soft ball of multi-coloured fluff Chiaki had made for her and rubbing her hand across it.

Gina was dropped off first and wished them a sweet goodbye where she gave Sonia a high five as Sonia didn’t feel comfortable with a hug at that moment and she had kissed Gundham on the cheek- after asking, of course. She had really learnt to respect boundaries throughout the past year and Sonia really appreciated it. She knew Gundham did too, even though he hadn’t vocalised it.

Upon arriving at Chiaki’s house, Ten helped Sonia take her two bags out of the boot- a Princess must be prepared for everything- and waved them off. Funnily enough, they had arrived at the same time as Kazuichi had and the three of them headed to the door. The boys allowed Sonia to ring the small button under the shiny nameplate that read, _Fujisaki, _as they knew how she loved to ring doorbells and an unfamiliar person had greeted them.

Someone who definitely wasn’t Chiaki and definitely wasn’t Chiaki’s two-year-older cousin, who Chiaki had showed them a photo of. The dark-haired figure in the doorway took one look at them before saying, “are you guys here for Chiaki?”

“Yea,” Kazuichi answered, and Sonia watched with a warm feeling as their face split into a small grin.

“Gremlin!” They yelled suddenly, “your friends are here.”

There was a humorous thump before a fully pink head came running down the stairs dressed in their pjs- Chiaki had dyed their hair fully pink halfway through the first year of school. “Thanks,” Chiaki smiled at them, and the stranger departed up the stairs of the house. Chiaki let the three of them in and waited for them to take off their shoes.

“Who was that?” Kazuichi asked when the three of them had finished and Chiaki lead them to what was presumably their room.

“Mukuro Ikusaba!” Chiaki responded, and at no response they rolled her eyes, “they’re Chihiro’s girlfriend.”

“Oh…” Sonia trailed off, and Chiaki smiled at her. “Will they be around tonight?”

“Nope! They’re spending the afternoon at a friend’s and then staying at Mukuro’s for the night. The two of them were just getting ready.”

When the four got to Chiaki’s room, Sonia smiled at the yellow, black and purple plaque on the door displaying Chiaki’s name in bold white letters before following them inside. Inside the room, Twogami, Ibuki and Chiaki’s friend were already there. Chiaki’s friend who looked very…

“Mikan?” Sonia asked, and a face framed by pastel purple bob looked back at her. “Mikan!”

“Son-sonia?” Mikan asked, taking a long hard look at her before smiling slightly and standing up from the spot they had been sitting on the ground. Over the year of riding the bus back and forth from school, Mikan and Sonia had gotten closer. She’d even had Mikan over at her house a couple of times.

“You know each other?” Chiaki suddenly asked, looking at the two of them. 

“Yup!” Sonia exclaimed. “We ride the bus together.”

“Y-yes,” Mikan nodded, looking down at Chiaki before turning back to Sonia and placing their hand around hers. Sonia grinned at her; it was their way of hugging each other.

The afternoon was fun. Fun and reckless. Especially when Chihiro and Mukuro had left for their party. They had come in right before leaving, and Chiaki had officially introduced them. Sonia was overwhelmed by tiny Chihiro was. She was so… small! Especially next to Mukuro, who was a similar height to Sonia- she had noticed this when Mukuro had led them to Chiaki’s room.

When they left, the house was theirs, and havoc immediately ensued. With every activity they did, something seemed to go wrong. They had played video games leading Twogami and Ibuki to get slightly too into it. They had tried to bake cupcakes and Sonia had forgotten about her, Gundham and Mikan’s batch leaving half of them burnt. They had played a board game and Chiaki accidentally broke one of the pieces which Kazuichi tried to fix. He did… before accidentally dropping it down the vent on the floor. They had ordered dinner and Gundham ended up tipping the person generously due to a miscalculation. They had watched a scary movie and Mikan had been scared to tears leading Chiaki to excuse them both for half an hour.

It was a mess. But that didn’t make it any less fun.

At night-time, Sonia couldn’t sleep. They had watched a few more movies, played a couple more games and then had gone to bed. Gundham, Kazuichi and Twogami were staying in Chiaki’s room while Sonia, Chiaki, Mikan and Ibuki were staying in Chihiro’s room- which she had generously offered before she and Mukuro had headed off. Mikan and Chiaki were sleeping on the ground together while Sonia and Ibuki were sleeping in Chihiro’s bed; they had chosen through an intense game of rock-paper-scissors.

She knew the rest of them had gone to sleep, it was indicative by the heavy and steady sounds of breathing throughout the quiet room. At first, Sonia tried going to sleep. She turned and moved and shimmied around for a while before getting very quietly and carefully out of bed. She walked over to the drawn green and white curtains of the room before pulling them open, taking a glance back at her still sleeping friends before quietly opening the window and leaning out of it.

She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the cool night air hit her skin.

Her blonde hair fell messily around her shoulders as she leant out the window and her eyes started to light up as she admired the faint flickering of the stars. In Japan, due to the light pollution, the stars weren’t very clear. But Sonia liked them, nonetheless. They were so… beautiful. And the stars over the Novoselic Kingdom? They shone the brightest of them all, so much so that you could see all kinds of patterns in the sky.

She looked back at her friends them and felt a feeling unable to describe. It was too hard to describe. And so, she looked back out the window again. Framed by the light glow of the nightlight in the room, she felt… happy. Yes.

_Happy. _

An emotion that… she had never truly felt before. But with friends and support, she felt she could do it. So, framed by the glow of the light coming from within the bedroom, Sonia breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe… just maybe… she didn’t _just _want to be a Princess.

She also wanted to be a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! Thanks for reading this prolonged ramble, this fic was very important to me and was very much a comfort when writing it. This is based on some of my own experiences so sorry if you can't relate to them!! I hope you enjoyed this fic about Sonia growing up, makin friends and creating her own identity!! + sorry if there are any errors :3
> 
> Also, I hope you like Gina because i luv her <3,, 
> 
> If ya want, you can find me @transnene on twit where I ramble incessantly. Thank you again for reading and just know that all future hits, kudos n comments are noted and appreciated!! I hope you continue to/start having a great day/night <3


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